Gateway firmware update, WiFi station mode, modbus and seasons greetings from Schneider Solar

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Comments

  • Halfcrazy1234
    Halfcrazy1234 Registered Users Posts: 4
    Dave, Feel free to call me and help me with this, I spent 30 minutes on with Eric and no joy, The APP on my phone asks for a password for the gateway. it has the name as User. On the gateway you have a User, Admin and Guest. I can not find my user password for the gateway. i know the admin password and can get to my gateway from the pc
  • Estragon
    Estragon Registered Users Posts: 4,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I would think with the admin pw you should be able to create new user and pw? 

    My guess is guest, user, and admin are default ids/usertypes with predefined priviledges.  IIRC Dave said earlier he gets clients to add one for him, so it seems to me it must be possible.
    Off-grid.  
    Main daytime system ~4kw panels into 2xMNClassic150 370ah 48v bank 2xOutback 3548 inverter 120v + 240v autotransformer
    Night system ~1kw panels into 1xMNClassic150 700ah 12v bank morningstar 300w inverter
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Yep Estragon. Who is Eric?  Clapton? I do not play unless my questions are answered. I am like that....
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Halfcrazy1234
    Halfcrazy1234 Registered Users Posts: 4
    Eric Benson from Schneider. I have a Alpha/Beta test site for Pro and Gateway here.

    As for the passwords its odd, As admin you can go into password manager and try and change it but if I try and change the user password I get an error telling me to try again. it was being escalated to the out of country engineers but I havent heard anything in a few weeks.
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    I will e-mail Eric B. My A/B for Schneider is done. it all went well. You may need to try and get specific help from India as there may be an issue from previous data entered that is stopping you. There are new characters that are not allowed. Again I ask, is CI2 working correctly?




    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • Halfcrazy1234
    Halfcrazy1234 Registered Users Posts: 4
    Yes insight 2.0 is perfect, Gateway is perfect, The only hitch in the giddiup is the app, it gets to the point of connecting to the gateway and says the password is incorect. No biggy I am sure I am missing something but for the life of me I dont know what :)

  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2020 #38
    There may be devices that are not all working. What is yours? We had to have 2 versions of the app to get mine working. hang in there. I wrote Eric and I can't say who I worked with because of my nda but he can sort it out.

    What characters are in your gateway user ID? Should be pretty simple. Mine has a cap then some letters a period and a bunch of numbers. If you can get into the gateway as a user, not just admin, then the problem is on Schneiders end.

    Eric B wrote back and said you should contact him as he can't find your e-mail
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Wanted to share what I learned from Schneider regarding my questions/concerns with my Gateway:

    CI2 Home Page does not reflect the fact that my generator is running.  Response - yes, this is a known bug.

    Gateway information regarding Amp Hours removed not available on CI2.  Response - yes that’s a feature they didn’t think of and plan to add it later.

    Can data be refreshed on CI2 or do you have to wait for the 10 minute refresh.  Response - you have to wait, no way to refresh.

    Is there any way to monitor Absorb Time on the Gateway or CI2.  Response - no way to monitor this data, maybe in a later version.

    Absorb Time field in the Gateway has different parameters than the CI2.  Response - known bug, will be fixed in future release.

    Any way to monitor the phase of charging (bulk, absorb, float) on CI2.  Response - not at this time.

    Any way to monitor how long a phase has been going on ie. Absorb Time is programmed for 300 minutes - how long has the charger been in the Absorb Time phase?  Response - neither the Gateway or CI2 can provide this data at this time - will consider request.

    Hope this info is helpful to others,

    Elwood



    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Can you access a chart of the battery voltage ?  attached is a combox chart, you can roughly count the time at voltage and figure out the charge stage and duration


    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Unfortunately the Gateway doesn’t have as much info available as the ComBox.


    This screen gives you an idea of the type of chart that’s available on CI2.  This time of year our PV is starting to kick in again.  It would be nice to have a totalizer that showed how much time the batteries were in the Absorption phase each day.  If you’re not careful you can go a month or more and not get a full charge, and the SG will slowly drop off.  I’ll need to start running the generator manually to make sure I get the SG where it needs to be.  
    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2020 #42
    It is called battery summary on gateway. That chart is not available yet out on the web ap or mobile Insight 2. It was not on Insight 1.
    It was #2 on my list for my field test on both combox and gateway.
    The OP should just hang on as I know they want to do a display,  there is room for it on gateway that combox ran out of. The digital/analog wifi switching is next. I am hoping!

    Back to ELYNN4 .  Good that you communicated with Schneider. Some of what you heard or were told is not correct. I think you said you have a cell connection and that will take time from insight2 to get out from your place to the cloud and for the cloud to get back and update.
    However, The whole concept of gateway and cloud app is for quick 2 way 
    communication. I can turn on a setting out in the cloud and as fast as I look it is changed. Maybe 3 seconds? My chrome browser updates every minute that I update it. If I have another tab open and go back I have to refresh and it updates. If I leave the browser open then it waits as nothing is that important, I think. They also do not want to clog other computer tasks with their app.

    You should be able to just look at voltage and get plenty of info from that along with the data that is there. You do have Soc which is immensely useful. The app shows the direction of current. You can see the solar going in and the load. Seems you may have to wait for some of those things as there is plenty on Insight 2 to be happy about. There is a version 1.06 for gateway I am testing now so hang tight. You can look at gateway firmware and see the list of known bugs also. Well, some of them ;)

    CI2 tells you the site weather pretty well, if it could carry the firewood in I would buy 2 gateways.

    For others here, the gateway is like the SCP on a XW/CSW system. It changes settings and reads data real time and can be used in your home only. You do not need an internet connection and you can go for a hike around the house with your tablet or smart phone.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Thanks Dave, I don’t believe the cell connection is the issue - my cell modem/router is online full time with 20mps throughput.

    Tech did say that if you change a setting and hit refresh that it will update all of the data.  If you don’t charge a setting, then it will not update other than the normal 10 minute interval.

    I agree that SOC is ok for monitoring the depletion and charging of the batteries.  It looks like the charger shits from Bulk to Absorb at around 95%, but the SOC algorithm starts to drift if you don’t go through a full Absorb cycle.

    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Is it hard to clean up after your charger does that ;)
    Soc needs to be close to full to be calibrated. They all do to some degree. One of the nice things about LFP is they do tend to really stay accurate compared to LA. Their settings in a batt mon reflect that.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Luckily I invested in Hydrocaps throughout so there is no clean up!

    My next set of batteries will probably be LFP or whatever is the latest and greatest 8-10 years from now.  In the mean time I hope to caretake the FLA’s in a way that I get maximum life from them.
    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Post 19 paragraph 3 where your charger ? 

     I think by 5 years there will be something much better than LFP. My state is dumping boatloads of money into R & D to get rid of the recycling of the nasty metals and make a battery that can get cold and charge.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Ah, that went over my head... somehow Spell Check bail me out when I need it too😇
    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Trying to determine when my system will enter the Equalization mode.  The Absorption time is set to 300 minutes.  As you can see the SOC got to 100% at 7:30am.  It is now nearly 2:30pm and still have not entered the Equalization phase.  This seems to be a new issue since changing from the ComBox to the Gateway.  Any ideas?

    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2020 #49
    It will need to go to float before eq can begin if it is enabled and programmed correctly. Looks to me like it should have at 11 am or so.
    Float is controlled by end amps which is controlled by user programmed capacity in Schneider/xantrex/trace systems.

    Whatever the cause is, it certainly is not gateway or a combox problem.
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Think I got it figured out.  I have my Absorb Time set to 300 minutes with a battery bank size of Zero, so the 2% return current (end amps) doesn’t get factored in.  The problem is reflected on the graph above - I used my vacuum around 8:00 am, this caused a dip in the voltage - so the Absorb Timer started over.  Then around 10:30 am I used my cut off saw, which caused the voltage to dip, which started the Absorb Time over again.  Lesson learned - I need to schedule my Equalizations for the middle of the night so that “life” doesn’t get in the way.
    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • ELYNN4
    ELYNN4 Registered Users Posts: 137 ✭✭
    Here’s what it looks like now.
    Off Grid, 4.5KW array, 9&6KW Gens, 6848XW inverter, Midnite Classic 150, 2 strings - 48V - Trojan FLA L16 2V, located in Talkeetna, Alaska
  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ELYNN4 said:
    Think I got it figured out.  I have my Absorb Time set to 300 minutes with a battery bank size of Zero, so the 2% return current (end amps) doesn’t get factored in.  The problem is reflected on the graph above - I used my vacuum around 8:00 am, this caused a dip in the voltage - so the Absorb Timer started over.  Then around 10:30 am I used my cut off saw, which caused the voltage to dip, which started the Absorb Time over again.  Lesson learned - I need to schedule my Equalizations for the middle of the night so that “life” doesn’t get in the way.
    Ha Ha !!
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,728 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    edited February 2020 #53
    Gateway update 1.06 is out today.
    Should help the mobile app with wifi conflicts. The mobile app is a bit faster now also with updates about every minute or so.

    Insight2 has a new report generation tool that helps improve monitoring and provides more insights into your energy usage! 2-17-20




    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net